The African Spurre Tortoise, also called the African Spur Thigh Tortoise, most commonly called Sulcata tortoise, is a species of tortoise which inhabits the southern edge of the Sahara desert, in northern Africa. Their diet provides them with most of their water requirements, but they do drink. They coat their skin with mud when available to cool off. When mud wallows are not available, they retreat to cooler burrows. Spurred tortoises are important to deserts because their burrows provide shelter for other animals. They do not hibernate, unlike many other types of tortoises, due to their natural environment being so close to the equator, and therefore temperate throughout the year. Though they are known to hibernate in climates colder than their natural habitat. They love to dig, and make very long burrows, often much damper than the ground surface, which other species frequently sublet, making dens in alcoves off the main burrow.